DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Increases Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,611 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.28% of Darden Restaurants worth $66,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46,484.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 926,901 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $48,919,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $71,883,000 after buying an additional 227,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 184.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,938 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,622,000 after buying an additional 193,134 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on DRI. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.7%

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $3.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $209.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,470,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,344,128. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.21 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $213.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.63.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 13,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.78, for a total transaction of $1,059,598.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,835.56. The trade was a 50.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.